Out of Shell
by Echelon9
Summary: Story follows Gohan and Videl's relationship two months before the World Tournament. Story shadows the accidental arrival of an alternate dimension Videl, and her best friend, Bulla Briefs.
1. Chapter 1

**Auther's note**

**T**his story may seem a little strange to some, but I'll try my best to clarify any plot holes, or character information that doesn't make any sense.

One thing that all of my stories have in common, is that they all take place within the same fictional universe that I've modified, using the templates of three different anime series: Sailor Moon, Tenchi Universe, and Dragonball Z. Many of the main characters in these series, I have altered their original personalities, powers, techniques, and/ or histories, to create the characters found in my modified universe.

Even though I've changed these characters, I give all the credit to the creators of each anime, for providing me with the original character templates.

This is a crossover between the standard DBZ universe, created by Akira Toriyama, and my modified universe. Even though the story primarily focuses on characters from Dragonball Z, do not be surprised if characters from Sailor Moon, and Tenchi Universe also make an appearance.

All characters, though modified, still belong to Naoko Takeuchi, Masaki Kajishima, and Akira Toriyama, respectively. I do not own them.

**Synopsis **

Set three months before the World Martial Arts tournament is scheduled to begin, Videl Satan and Gohan Son are enjoying a budding relationship. It's been over a month since Videl's discovery of Gohan's secret crime fighting identity, known as the Great Saiyaman. In that time, Gohan has taught Videl how to fly, and the basics of energy manipulation. Their dating life soon becomes public knowledge, with family and friends struggling to adjust to the change; most notably Videl's father Hercule Satan, the current World's Martial Arts Champion. Gohan has neither revealed his Super Saiyan transformation, nor his violent past as a Z Fighter (most notably, his fight with the monster Cell), to his girlfriend. However, the more Videl learns about energy manipulation, the deeper her curiosity becomes; now she's positive that Gohan had something to do with the Cell Games. She's yet to confront him on the issue; fearing that her possessive behavior may destroy the relationship they have.

In an alternate dimension, Videl Satan is a young human/ saiyan hybrid; the daughter of Hercule, a Senator of Earth, and Sasori Satan, a former high ranking commander in the late King Vegeta's army. Videl spends most of her time with her best friend, sparring partner, and constant companion, Princess Bulla Briefs, the first born child of Vegeta- Sei's power couple, the current King Vegeta and his wife, Bulma Briefs. The two young adults have been enjoying the fruits of the new peace treaty, forged between the three strongest races in the galaxy, the humans of the Moon Empire, the juraians of the Kingdom of Jurai, and the saiyans of the Kingdom of Vegeta- Sei. With peace, soon came a new enemy, the Shadow Dragons, who quickly set into motion the systematic destruction of the entire Galaxy.

Following the respective requests from both King Vegeta, and Emperor Tenchi Masaki, Videl and Bulla are sent to protect an invaluable hyperspace teleportation system from destruction at the hands of one of the Dragons. The duo never makes contact with the enemy; instead, their spaceship malfunctions and is pulled into, and destroyed, by a wormhole. Videl and Bulla escape destruction using escape pods that send them hurtling through the void of empty space. Where does the duo end up? On a small, yet familiar, blue planet, with seemingly no hope for survival.

* * *

Out of Shell 

Chapter 1

**Satan City**

Physics, the last class of the day; Videl Satan could only describe it as painful, more so than even the most grueling of workouts. She glances briefly at her two friends sitting to her right. Erasa, a bubbly blond with a well endowed figure, looks to be a million miles away, lost within a translucent daydream. Beside her sat Sharpener; the tall, muscular blond fighting a losing battle with sleep.

Videl rolls her eyes, as she looks to her left, 'Figures, nothing ever changes; Erasa looks dead to the world, Sharpener might as well be snoring… and Gohan… well, he knows more than the teacher, what's he got to worry about?'

The glassy look in her boyfriend's eyes also suggests that he, too, was counting down the time until the end of school.

Ever since he started dating Videl openly, Gohan found himself caring much less about school. His hormones overpowering everything; even crime fighting barely caught his attention anymore, unless Videl was with him.

When the bell finally did go off, Videl could only breathe a sigh of relief. Gohan had invited her to dinner at his house that night, and she quickly jumped at the invitation, the prospect of spending some alone him with him was too tantalizing to pass up.

-------------

The spring air whips her shoulder length black hair into a frenzy, as Videl flies through the air, with Gohan flying parallel beside her. Having perfected the technique only a month before, Videl still has moments in which she has to pinch herself, to remind herself that she is actually flying.

There was far more to Gohan than she ever could have imagined. She had initially thought of him as a bit of a nerd, with an innocent complex, and an introverted personality. The more she got to know him, the more her opinions changed.

They had been dating for almost a month now, and she knew a fair share of his secrets. She had initially thought that Saiyaman was the only major secret the boy had hidden from her, but she was wrong. Who knew that gentle Gohan, who lived out in the secluded country with only his mother and little brother, could have personal relationships with so many _celebrities_? Bulma Briefs, the CEO of the corporate giant Capsule Corp, the legendary baseball player and martial artist, Yamcha, as well as the legendary martial arts master Roshi. She had heard stories that the man existed purely in myth, and it was only until Gohan had personally introduced her, that she became truly astonished.

As unbelievable as his social relationships were, his skills as a martial artist were astounding. Videl would only ever admit this to herself, but Gohan was a far superior fighter than she was. He seemingly had more knowledge than most human's could possibly gain in one lifetime. Even the mythological Master Roshi had admitted to Gohan being a better fighter than himself.

The flying technique was only the beginning; Gohan had introduced her to a vast variety of different techniques that she had no clue existed, or could possibly exist; energy manipulation and projection, manipulation of elemental energy, and force fields. She could barely utilize, let alone understand, any of them, preferring to remain a hand to hand combat specialist. The more Gohan taught her about these strange techniques, the more it sparked her interest.

Her newfound interest led her to try and gain additional knowledge on the subject. In her father's private collection, she had found tapes of past tournaments from decades prior. She watched with bated breath as Gohan's father, Goku, as a mere child, battled Tien Shinhan in the finals of one tournament. The two combatants displaying a level of technique and skill that Videl could only dream was humanly possible.

Videl never told anyone about her research, not even Gohan or her father. With this newfound knowledge, it prompted her to probe even further, eventually leading her to rewatch the controversial Cell Games from seven years prior. She could barely make out any of the action, but what she could see looked an awful lot like the energy techniques that Gohan had introduced her to; just on an entirely different scale. It seemed almost like the users were so impossibly powerful, and their techniques so refined, that they had the power to reduce entire cities to ashes.

Videl had desperately wanted to confront Gohan with answers to her questions, but she backed off, fearing that she could make him uncomfortable, and possibly force him to end their relationship. That was the last thing she wanted, so she swallowed her curiosity. Gohan still got edgy whenever someone mentioned the Cell Games around him.

* * *

For the last few weeks, Gohan felt on top of the world. His first date with Videl had occurred randomly and spontaneously. Weeks before, a date between them would have only been a joke. Not that Videl _wouldn't_ date him, she just considered fighting and training more important than dating. It was only after Gohan had taught her the very basics of energy projection and control, enabling her to fly, that Videl agreed to go on date him; as a thank you.

After that first date, everything just seemed to happen like clockwork; they had a second date, then a third. Gohan found himself spending most, if not all, of his time with Videl; though it wasn't until their fourth date that they shared their first kiss.

His mother had been ecstatic when he told her; she had ranted and raved about weddings and grandchildren for the rest of the night. Videl had never told her father about the kiss; in fact, as far Gohan knew, Mr. Satan knew nothing about the relationship with his daughter. He could tell that Mr. Satan was very overprotective of his daughter, while on the other hand, his mother was so supportive, she all but let them share a room together when Videl stayed over.

That's not to say that Videl and his mother didn't have their issues. When they first met, Chichi had regarded Videl as nothing more than a hussy that was wasting her son's time. Gohan remembers his mother warming up to Videl after a few weeks, and of learning about her wealth and fame, she had jokingly tried to push him into a marriage contract right there on the spot.

Chichi had also immediately begun training Videl on another form of expression, domestication. Yes, it was a cruel, yet hilarious, sight watching the mighty Videl Satan learning how to cook, clean, and do laundry; and failing miserably at all three. Gohan, and his kid brother Goten, had gotten a few laughs at Videl's expense; that was until their mother forced them to eat Videl's cooking. Chichi vowed that she would "make a proper housewife out of Videl" though she still had a long way to go.

Gohan had introduced Videl to energy projection and control, but kept it at a minimum, enough so that she could learn how to fly. The training had sparked Videl's curiosity, and upon request, Gohan had taken it a step further and demonstrated the use of ki blasts and force fields. The kept the energy levels weak though, the blasts he used to demonstrate being less powerful than the one's his father used as a little kid.

Knowing Videl to be quite pushy in her quest to learn new things that caught her interest, he had prepared himself just in case Videl made the connection of energy projection back to the Cell Games, and came to him for an explanation. He had yet to tell Videl about his saiyan ancestry, and his super saiyan transformation; and a large part of him was hoping he never would. Energy projection, even on a scale as large as the Cell Games, he knew Videl would be able to handle. What he didn't think she could handle would be his alien ancestry.

He had Krillin and Tien on hand, to prove to her that humans were, indeed, capable of large scale destruction if needed be; however, he had no other proof that Saiyans actually existed, other than his word. And transforming into a super saiyan wouldn't have nearly the convincing impact on her as transforming into a giant ape would.

-------------------

Gohan finds himself staring absentmindedly at Videl, as she flies beside him; she too seemingly lost in thought.

"You okay?"

His question takes a half second to register, "I'm fine, I've been practicing. I'm twice as fast as I was a month ago."

"I'm sure your father will get a real kick seeing you flying around during the tournament."

Videl laughs, "I can imagine; however, are your friends, Krillin and Yamcha going to enter? How 'bout Master Roshi? I won't feel like I've accomplished much if I win the tournament, knowing that some of the best fighters didn't enter."

Gohan scratches at his chin, "I'm not sure about Krillin, but I know Yamcha and Master Roshi have retired from the tournament scene."

"Why? They're two of the greatest fighters the world has ever seen. What could they possibly have to gain by retiring?"

"Lack of competition, I guess."

Gohan knew why Master Roshi and Yamcha had retired; it wasn't as if they couldn't hold their own against the rest of the Earth's fighters, but as Z Fighters, compared to Vegeta, Piccolo, Tien, and himself, they were weak, and felt they were no longer needed to help the group.

Videl smirks, "If they want some competition, I'll fight them."

Gohan laughs and points towards the ground; the couple had entered the air above the Mt Paozu central 479 district; a few miles away from his house.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Mt Paozu**

"Wow, Ms. Chichi, that was great! I wish I could cook that well." Videl said, as she helps to clear the table.

"Thank you dear, I'm sure in due time you will."

Videl made a face, "doubtfully, I can barely manage to boil water."

Videl carefully places the dishes into the sink; she had a nasty habit of accidently breaking dishes.

"So the World Tournament is coming up pretty quickly, huh? I trust my son has been able to teach you well?"

"Oh, yes, the training has been fantastic, better than I could have ever hoped for."

Videl paused to retrieve a towel from the rack. She had a question that had been bugging her for awhile, though she never thought to ask.

"Ms. Chichi, why did you, and your husband, retire from the tournament circuit? He was a former champion, and you, yourself competed at one point."

Chichi pauses, '_That's a question I used to ask myself.' _

"Life just got in the way, I guess. Gohan was born only a few years after Goku won the 23rd Tournament. I really couldn't afford to return."

Chichi closed her eyes, _'Honestly I probably could have gone back if I wanted to, but Goku and Gohan were just getting into too much trouble, and I worried constantly.' _

"Would you ever consider going back and competing, say at the upcoming tournament?"

Videl was sincere; she secretly had always wanted to fight Chichi, ever since finding out that she was a fighter herself.

Chichi laughed, "That's sweet, but it's been years since I fought competitively; I'd probably just embarrass myself."

Eavesdropping, Goten just had to throw in his two cents, "That's not true mom! You fight just fine with me."

It was true, after the death of her husband, Chichi had taken it upon herself to train the small boy; mainly out of sheer boredom.

Chichi smirks, "You're just a child Goten; it would be expected of me to be able to beat you. The tournament will have fully trained adults, and I doubt I could make it past the preliminaries."

Goten scrunches up his face in disdain, "Hey! I can keep up with Gohan in a fight and-"

Gohan cuts off his little brother mid sentence, fearing that he may let something slip when he shouldn't. Like his older brother, Goten is able to transform into a super saiyan. The sudden transformation was a great shock to both Gohan and Chichi. Gohan had warned him not to discuss anything related to saiyans around Videl, which, unfortunately, became increasingly difficult once Videl became familiar with energy.

Goten kept his mouth in check, but being a little kid, he sometimes let things slip whenever he became passionate.

"It'd be kind of weird seeing you fight in the tournament, mom, I'm sure you'd breeze through the preliminaries,"

'_She's keeps going on and on about how poor we are; if she actually did compete, she could probably place in the top three and earn some money,' _

"Yeah, but it would be much simpler just to watch you from the sidelines, Gohan."

Videl places the last dish on the rack to dry, and leaving Chichi and Goten in the living room, she follows Gohan back to his room. She, too, is grateful of Gohan's mother being so supportive of their relationship. Chichi's only rule was that the bedroom door had to be open; a much better bargain compared to being watched by Mr. Satan constantly.

Videl throws herself on top of Gohan; the two collapsing on his bed, intertwined in a deep kiss. Their make out sessions varied; about the only two places that they could have any privacy were indeed Gohan's bedroom, or the woods of the Mt Paozu area.

----------------

Almost immediately after Gohan and Videl went public with their relationship, the couple's two best friends, Sharpener and Erasa, had also started their own spontaneous relationship. Sharpener, for the longest time, had held a crush on Videl. Ever since he started high school, he had tried to woo the Satan heiress into becoming his girlfriend; only to fail every time. When Videl developed her sudden fascination with the Great Saiyaman, Sharpener almost immediately became jealous. Like Videl, he too became hell bent on discovering the true identity of the superhero, in order to make him a laughing stock, only to come up empty handed.

When Videl's relationship with Gohan became public knowledge, as angry as Sharpener was initially, he soon admitted defeat. He had been chasing Videl since his days in middle school, only to be repeatedly turned down and rejected by her. He even admitted that Gohan was a great match for the girl; however, he still couldn't get rid of the feelings that he still held for her, until something unexpected happened.

Erasa had been Videl's best friend for as long as she could remember, and until Sharpener had joined their inner circle in middle school, she and Videl had been loners. She had long thought of Sharpener as a friend, almost a brother; a romantic relationship between the two of them would have been laughable. When Videl started dating Gohan, the four friends began to double date to keep each other company. It was on one of these double dates that the unthinkable actually happened. One casual conversation led to the next; the pair began to find they had far more in common that they actually realized. Two weeks after the announcement of their best friends, Sharpener and Erasa had made their own relationship public.

------------

It was the weekend, and downtown Satan City was congested with the heavy afternoon rush. Two young men had made themselves comfortable on the benches outside the hair salon, both of them toting no less than half a dozen shopping bags each.

Sharpener stretches his arms above his head, as he leans back onto the warm metal bench.

"I hate the weekends, you know? It's just an excuse for the girls to drag us everywhere while they shop."

"It's not so bad, they're at least kind enough to model any outfits for us, before they pick them out."

"True, true"

Sharpener yawns as he changes the subject. "So, the World Tournament's coming up pretty quickly; are you and Videl going to be ready?"

"It depends; Videl's quick to pick up most techniques, but with the others she's seemingly a lost cause."

Sharpener laughs, "I think you're wasting her time to be honest. Both of you are tough, but do you really think that either of you has a chance at beating Mr. Satan? I don't."

Gohan smirks, "You'd be surprised at what we can do. Thanks to me, Videl is twice the fighter she was two months ago."

Gohan's attempt at sarcasm nearly causes Sharpener to fall out of the seat in an uproar of laughter.

"Oh, I'll believe that when I see it Son, Videl was an incredible fighter to begin with, so I doubt there's much you could do to improve her techniques."

"Oh boys!"

The sound of an unmistakable chirpy voice causes both guys to turn, "Well? Whad'ya think?"

Gohan could only stare, while Sharpener nodded his head in approval. With Videl recently cutting her hair short, Erasa had come up with the idea of getting matching hair styles; considering their hair was now practically the same length.

"Wow, you two look sexy" remarked Sharpener.

"I agree, you look incredible, Videl."

Gohan stands, and kisses his blushing girlfriend.

"You think so? It doesn't look too overdone on the sides?" she asks, already feeling conscientious about her looks.

"Nah, you look great, honest" he says, flashing her the patented Son grin.

The two couples make their way through the city, the girls in the center, chatting away like hyperactive schoolgirls, and the guys on the outside, having been given the task of carrying the bags.

"Wow Videl, the city looks so much cleaner ever since you and Saiyaman joined forces" said Erasa.

Sharpener rolled his eyes, while Videl and Gohan shot each other a look. Indeed, with the two of them teaming up months ago, the city had become noticeably nicer. However; since they started dating, neither of them had spent a great deal of time helping the police, and thusly hadn't been seen in the city fighting crime in weeks. Both were sure the crime rate had risen.

As if on cue, four police hovercrafts zoom past them. One of the crafts stops suddenly, and reverses at a rapid speed, coming just short of the group. Two police officers exited the vehicle and marched themselves up to the bewildered couples.

"Videl Satan, it's good to see you again, we're lucky to have found you."

Videl looked taken aback, and slightly annoyed; she knew all too well, were this was going to lead. A quick glance at her boyfriend reveals he shared the same feelings. Videl let out a heavy sigh.

'_Damn; well I guess there's no stopping the inevitable.' _

"Is there something that I can help you with officers?"

"Yes! It's an emergency; a gang of thugs has kidnapped the mayor! They won't release him until they've spoken to either you or your father."

Sharpener swore, Erasa gasped, and Gohan buried his face into his hands. Kidnapped the mayor? Called out Videl and her father? Videl was pissed; vowing to beat the crap out of the assholes that ruined her carefree weekend.

Videl turned to get into the squad craft, "Don't worry about me guys, I'm sure the 'Great Saiyaman' will be there to back me up"

She made sure to put extra emphasis on the words Great Saiyaman, but she knew that Gohan was already a step ahead. The hovercraft sped away, leaving Gohan and his friends standing dumbfounded.

"This is terrible!" wailed Erasa. "What are we going to do?"

"Well I'm going" yelled Sharpener, handing the bags to Erasa, before turning to run down the street.

"Wait! It's too dangerous, you could be hurt!"

"Sorry Erasa, but I agree with Sharpener. We'll only go as far as the police will let us."

Gohan handed her the remaining bags as he ran down the street after Sharpener.

"Wait! Wait for me! Gohan, Sharpener!"

Erasa scowls '_Men! Why do they have to be so freaking impatient?'_

Gathering the bags in her hand, she ran down the street after her friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Dead Space**

Space, the last frontier; though, not all that special, especially in today's society. With the technology the Allied Galaxia possesses, one could literally circumnavigate the entire galaxy in under a month. This feat being made possible by the creation and development of hyper dimensional teleportation systems, or HDTS for short; every major power in the galaxy owns at least one. Think of these devices as a type of makeshift galactic interstate. A fleet of imperial Moon Empire starships could enter a HDTS portal at one side of a quadrant, and exit in front of Vegeta- Sei within a matter of days, not centuries, like the primitive space probes from eons past.

When the Shadow Dragons attacked the galaxy, the HDTS portals were considered high risk, and invaluable targets. Without these portals, military aid, medical supplies, and surpluses of food could no longer be transported between nations at high speeds. Nations that were devastated by the Dragons faced extinction, if a HDTS portal was not located near the planet.

Videl Satan, a saiyan/ human hybrid, hailing from the Earth of the Moon Empire, and Bulla Briefs, also a saiyan/ human hybrid, the crown princess and heir to the throne of Vegeta-Sei, have vowed to protect the portal with their lives.

That is until, they somehow end up fucking up the mission…

Videl and Bulla may be two of the galaxy's finest warriors, but put the two together and it's a recipe for chaos. Why? Bulla and Videl are pranksters, roughhousers, and delinquents. Putting the two of them together on a spaceship in dead space, with little or nothing to do to amuse them, as they wait for an attack that may or may not come; it's just wishing for a disaster to happen.

"Ah, this is so fucking boring! The hell did I let myself get dragged into a mission like this?"

Videl Satan yelled seemingly to herself, as she checks the ship's radar for the umpteenth time that evening. The blue eyed vixen, with shoulder length black hair, finds herself slowly slipping into the dark obscurity of sheer boredom.

"We've been circling the portal since yesterday, and the only thing that pops up on radar is the occasional starship from Jurai or Vegeta- Sei."

The sound of footsteps approaching the ships counsel grabs her attention.

"Well I certainly didn't ask for your dumbass to come with me, I could have soloed this mission, easily."

Videl flashes her friend a perturbed look, "Bulla, you're so fucking lazy, that you probably would have blown up the portal after a day of waiting, then returned to your father and told him that the Shadow Dragons did it."

The stunningly beautiful, blue haired hybrid flashes Videl a wry smile.

"Bah, I suppose you're right. But…"

Bulla holds a bottle out in front of her and lays it on the counter of the counsel. "You were hiding this from me, weren't you?"

Videl takes one look at the bottle, a potent bottle of strong sake, and shakes her head.

"Whatever do you mean? That's not mine; maybe someone stashed it on board before we got here."

"Liar, this bottle's out of Empress Ryoko's personal collection, you can tell because of the little red crab on the bottle. No one but you has the connections to score alcohol of this caliber."

Videl smiles and snatches the bottle out of her friend's hand. Bulla was right; she had gone through a lot of trouble to get this alcohol. She had talked to Gohan, then to Princess Sasami, then finally to the Empress herself.

"I was saving it, for when we got bored; I guess now would be such an occasion."

Bulla reaches into the bust of her armor and pulls out two shot glasses. She hands one to her friend and pulls up a chair next to the counsel.

"Wow, using your fun bags to transport shot glasses is some talent" Videl says, as she opens the bottle and fills the glasses.

"The gods decided to endow me with huge boobs" replies Bulla, giving her bust a gentle shake "I have to find other uses for them than distracting horny guys."

Videl downs her shot then quickly refills the glass. "Well the gods decided to endow me with almost no breasts at all; though I do have a nice ass, which is more than enough to entice the fiancé."

"Take it easy Videl! You know you're a total lightweight."

Indeed, her friend's inability to tolerate large quantities of alcohol was practically legendary. Bulla could hold her own, but even the tiniest amount had a huge affect on Videl. After just a single shot, she could see the effects of the sake taking form on the girls face.

It was baffling to her why Videl would drink the amounts of alcohol that she did. _'It's a sad excuse to keep up with me,'_ she always thought.

Besides getting plastered, Videl always made a total fool of herself; usually with hilarious results. About a year prior, they had taken their boyfriends to the grand opening of a new nightclub in downtown Bardock City. All four of them ended up wasted, and because she became too drunk to care, she couldn't stop Videl from overindulging.

Upon return to the palace, Videl had drunkenly succumbed to lust, which quickly gave way to sex. As she and her boyfriend climaxed, Videl had vomited all over herself, and her mate, and proceeded to pass out. That's how Bulla had found her, lying naked and unconscious in a pool of her own vomit. Bulla had taken pictures to commemorate the glorious event.

After her third shot, Bulla decides to cut her friend off, taking the bottle for herself "Alright, I've think you've had enough. Let's not waste the sake."

"Easy for you to say" Videl slurred, clearly a little tipsy.

"It's not my fault you can't hold your liquor; besides, we need to be at least semiconscious just in case we do run into one of those Shadow Dragon assholes."

Videl frowns, watching Bulla down two more shots. "Those bastards aren't going to show, we're wasting our time. Whanna go fight? It's 'bout the only thing we can do."

"What? Are you asking to be beaten into the ground again? You really are a glutton for punishment."

Videl laughs, accepting the challenge, "Tell yourself whatever you need to inflate that ego of yours. Just know that you'll be wasting your time, whipping your fun bags out at me."

Bulla laughs maniacally and downs another two shots, _'in order to level the playing field.'_

"You're just full of cheap shots tonight, aren't you?" Bulla tosses the glass to the ground, shattering it as it skids across the floor of the ship.

Bulla and Videl make their way to the ships custom fitted onboard gravity chamber, located in the cargo bay. Bulma Briefs had refused to let the two girls go into space without some form of amusement on board. The two had used the chamber the day before, but were forced to stop due to a short in the wiring. Bulla had done the best repair job that she could, and seemingly got the machine back into working order. She typed in the proper setting and controls, and activated the machine.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Dead Space**

The two hybrids enter the machine cautiously; making sure the machine emitted the proper amounts of gravity.

"Drunk fighting, we haven't done this in awhile. I guess this gives me an advantage, seeing that I'm only slightly buzzed."

Bulla lowers herself, and puts up her guard.

"Ha! You're no drunken master either, come on, let's see what the Princess of Saiyans is made of."

Videl retorts, lowering herself into her fighting stance. The two hybrids circle each other, looking for openings. Neither of them performs their best while under the influence of alcohol, but they do it in order to spice up their training sessions.

Bulla attacks first, looking for the knockout punch right away, but Videl dodges with ease and counters with a kick. Both women keep to the basics, blocking each other's strikes at a relatively fast pace; though completely average for a pair of half saiyans, or even buzzed half saiyans. Slowly their fighting pace quickens; soon both women resemble nothing more than blurs traveling through the air.

Only the ages of nineteen and twenty, both Videl and Bulla have developed levels of skill far beyond those of other adolescent saiyans their age. This being primarily due to the fact that neither of them solely relies on the brute power, and durability, of their saiyan ancestry as main source of power.

Being half human, and both belonging to noble Moon Empire families, they also have the power to control their families elemental. The Briefs family, a noble family having originated from Mercury, has the ability to control ice, while the Satan family, a noble family from Mars, has the power to manipulate fire.

Bulla charges an energy blast and fires it; just barely missing her friend. Bulla fires a volley of blasts, targeting Videl with numerous shots of energy. Videl clasps her hands together, quickly making a few hand signs; a wall of fire appears before her, engulfing the blasts of energy before they can touch her.

"I see you've improved. You have more control over your elemental" Bulla complemented.

"It took me awhile, with Raye beating me into the ground every time I did something wrong, but I think I'm getting the hang of it."

Bulla shutters, Raye Hino was one of the few people she knew, that loved the thrill of fighting more than her father did. She could only imagine the horror of having that psychopath as a teacher.

"Good, maybe now I'll have a challenge."

Bulla smirks, and reaches down into her bust and pulls out a capsule. She clicks it, and with an explosion of smoke, a katana encased within a block of ice falls into her hands. She grabs the hilt; the ice melting away instantly.

"Up to your old sword tricks I see? I'm not impressed. Though it does impress me that your fun bags can hold so much stuff; it must be handy."

"Are you underestimating me Videl? That arrogance may end up costing you."

Bulla grins, and swings the sword. Videl puts up a shield of fire, only to have it snuffed out as she's hit by an intense blast of cold air.

"I've got you now; I'm betting you're wishing that you hadn't had that third shot, huh?"

Bulla creates an extendable version of her arm, made of ice, that reaches outs and tries to trap the younger hybrid.

"Shit!"

Videl jumps out of the way, but the arm continues to chase her. Videl out maneuvers the attack, causing it to plow into the ground beside her, and escapes to the safety of the air.

Videl makes another sarcastic comment, only to have Bulla's attack follow her through the air, freezing her within a block of ice upon contact.

"Damn, that was too easy! You suck at fighting when you're drunk!"

Bulla gasps as the illusion of Videl explodes in a burst of white hot fire, evaporating Bulla's ice prison and appendage all the way to the floor. The real Videl appears behind her not half a second later.

"What's this about sucking? You're the one that spends the most time on her knees,"

Bulla smirks and unleashes a fury of swipes with her sword, the last one having quite a bit of power behind it, sending a wave of icy blue energy hurtling past Videl.

"Kendo!? Are you crazy Bulla, you're using kendo in here? You trying to kill me or something; don't tell me I've offended you by speaking the truth."

Unbeknownst to either hybrid, Bulla's last attack had indeed done some damage, to the gravity machine, weakening the structural integrity of the simulation.

"Fine, then" said Videl with a serious face. "You want me to fight you seriously? Are you that bored? You know the risks."

"Just shut the fuck up, Videl, and activate the technique" Bulla smiles as she holds her sword in front of her.

"Very well, my friend"

Videl clasps her hands together and focuses her energy, compressing it. Lightning bolts run down her arms and legs, as she supercharges the energy in her fingers and hands, feet and toes. This technique enables Videl to move her feet and hands at supersonic speeds without depleting her energy supply; signified by turning the energy in her hands and feet a bright white.

For the finale it would be Bulla's kendo versus Videl's kyushojitsu …

With her increased speed, Videl quickly outmaneuvers her opponent, beating her to the punch on the first strike. Startled, Bulla counters and releases a destructive wave of energy, trying to hit her sparring partner. Videl dodges the attack, and then, disaster.

Bulla's attack destroys the fragile integrity of the machine, and short circuits it, prematurely shutting off the gravity simulation. Bulla's attack has detonated, and covers most of the ship's cargo hold in ice.

"Shit, Bulla! Look what you did!"

"What I did? Moron, if you hadn't of dodged my attack this wouldn't have happened."

All of the controls to the machine had been frozen once Bulla's attack had destroyed the gravity simulation. The two hybrids could only stare in disbelief, distraught that all their fun has now been ruined. Not about to succumb to the impending boredom of not having anything else to do, Videl did the only thing a half drunk, human/ saiyan hybrid would do, she blasts the frozen gravity machine with a stream of fire.

Videl's illogical course of attack did manage to melt the ice around the controls to the gravity machine; however, the attack set the machine on fire, which caused the entire contraption to malfunction and explode.

Bulla's only thought was to laugh at her friend for her blatant stupidity; that was until the emergency alarm could be heard blaring throughout the ship.

"Uh… Bulla, which alarm is that?"

"It sounds like the weapons system malfunction alarm, but I…"

An explosion rocks the ship from the outside, sending both hybrids crashing to the floor.

"What the fuck is going on? One of the Dragons is attacking us…"

"Shut up Videl! We have to get upstairs."

The two hybrids fight through the ice, amidst the blaring alarm and occasional explosion rocking the ship. The weapons system had indeed malfunctioned; most likely a result of Videl frying the circuit boards of the gravity machine. When the machine malfunctioned, it must have short circuited the weapons system as well.

"Videl, look outside! The HDTS portal!"

Both were horrified at what they saw, the HDTS portal was malfunctioning, sending out waves of unstable negative energy at an alarming rate.

"Don't tell me Bulla…"

Videl had a look of sheer horror in her eyes, and unfortunately, Bulla followed her logic; she too, became gripped by the icy hand of fear.

This was their fault; they crippled the gravity machine; and due to their stupidity, it must have short circuited the ships weapons system, causing it to accidently fire upon the HDTS portal.

Videl was fighting tears at this point, as Bulla desperately tried to search for a solution. In her panicked haste, she almost missed the irregular phenomenon occurring within the HDTS portal. She was horrified to find that the portal's negative energy had caused the contraption to collapse inwards, creating a pocket black hole.

Bulla attempts to steer the ship free of the dimensional rift. Even though the black hole was small, it was powerful, and it already had them in its grasp.

Videl was crying at this point, and Bulla was out of options. The ship would be crushed if it got pulled in; their chances of survival were nonexistent. In one last ditch effort to save them, Bulla activates the distress signal on the ship, as she and Videl man the escape pods.

The hybrids watch as their ship is quickly pulled into the rift; the two escape pods not far behind. Bulla's idea is to use their energy as a temporary shield to protect their pods from the immense gravity. Since the hole was small, Bulla was hoping for the chance of riding the gravity like a wave, hopefully managing to shoot back out.

This didn't happen; even using their maximum power, they still weren't able to withstand the energy of the hole. Then something strange happened; instead of being crushed, Videl and Bulla felt their pods being pushed _through _the hole. The two hybrids were tossed end over end, as they plummeted into darkness.

Videl and Bulla both lose consciousness, as their ships emerged damaged, but intact, on the other side of the strange black hole; now they were being hurtled through space; their destination, unknown; their chances of survival, slim.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Satan City**

The kidnapping of the Satan City mayor became public knowledge almost an hour after the situation had began. A ruthless gang of mercenaries, called the Red Shark Gang, has taken the local official hostage; their reason, to attract the attention of the world hero Hercule Satan.

The hovercraft stops just short of the police barricade; Videl Satan jumps out, and rushes towards the front of the office building. She can see three men, all heavily armed, and a fourth in center holding the mayor by knife point.

Videl addresses them as a whole, "I'm assuming you people are the Red Shark Gang? Listen, if you give up now and surrender, maybe your prison sentences will be shorter."

"Not a chance girlie, now beat it, unless you'd rather die."

The muscular man, wearing a green shirt, holding the mayor by knife point, comes to a revelation.

"Hey, you're Videl Satan? Hercule's kid"

Videl spoke with venom in her voice, "Yeah, I'm Videl Satan, why have you assholes kidnapped the mayor?"

The man on the far left, wearing a red jacket, flashes Videl a twisted smile "We're using him as leverage in order to draw your father here; our boss wants to fight him."

Videl laughs, "Is this some kind of joke? You idiots can't be serious. My father's a dangerous man; none of you cowards would ever have a chance against him."

"Is that a fact?"

Videl turns to see a large, muscular man, at least seven feet tall, opening the front door of the office; the rest of his men looking like small children in comparison.

"Well Ms. Satan, I think your father's nothing but a fraud; I'm going to fight and embarrass him. He's also a coward, if he sent his little girl here to fight his battles for him."

Videl bares her teeth and snaps at the man, "My father's a busy man; he can't be bothered cleaning up random trash like you, that was my job, but now I'm too busy do it either."

She gets into a fighting stance, "I'll make this quick, so that I can return to my date."

"I have no interest in fighting you Ms. Satan, but if I have to beat you to draw your father here, so be it. If anyone tries to interfere in our fight, kill them."

The remaining members of the gang nod; drawing their loaded automatic weapons, ready to stand guard.

* * *

Gohan and Sharpener make it to the edge of the police barrier, but are quickly turned away for their safety. Sharpener runs to the opposite side of the barrier, and then across the street. He can see Videl in the distance about to fight a man more than twice her size.

'Dammit, what does Videl think she's doing? She going to get herself killed.'

Looking around Sharpener also realizes he's lost track of Gohan, the Son boy was right behind him; he seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Moving from his position, he runs back behind the police barrier, in an attempt to locate his friend.

"Sharpener, what's going on? Where are Videl and Gohan?"

Erasa manages to catch up to her boyfriend, but she's panting and nearly out of breath.

"I lost Gohan on the way here, but Videl's getting ready to fight. The police won't allow us to get any closer, but I've found a safe place across the street that'll give us a better view."

Erasa follows him across the street and crotches down beside him behind a bush. Videl has already engaged the enemy in combat, but something else catches his eye. He sees the automatic firearms in the hands of the rest of the gang members.

"Oh shit."

Erasa turns to look at him, his eyes full of terror.

"What is it, you're making me nervous."

"Those men… they're armed with some serious weapons, even if Videl wins, she could still be…killed."

Erasa begins to panic, but Sharpener quiets her; even though they weren't close enough to the action to be heard, any one of the thugs could certainly see them in the distance if they were to focus on their position.

'Damn, for once I'll be happy to see the Great Saiyaman if he shows up, please Videl, stay alive.'

* * *

It wasn't hard evading Sharpener and Erasa; a small mob had already assembled behind the police barrier when they arrived. Gohan had merely run the opposite way, when Sharpener made his way across the street. The problem faced he then, was finding a safe place to transform. He had to run almost a mile from the crime scene, in order to find an empty ally. Once he did, he laid low, pressing the button on his watch, transforming the half –saiyan into, the Great Saiyaman.

Landing on top of the building directly across from the mayor's office, Gohan carefully surveyed the surroundings. From his perch he could see that Videl had already started fighting, and from what he could tell, she was holding back.

His senses weren't nearly as actuate as a saiyan scouter, but he'd put her current power level just a grade shy of being on par with Master Roshi's. She could easy defeat all the members of the Red Shark Gang single handedly.

And then he saw something troublesome, 'They have high powered weapons with them, and Videl isn't quick enough to dodge all those bullets without suffering serious injuries.'

He vowed not to interfere, unless he was sure that bullets were going to fly.

* * *

Below him, Videl Satan continues her fight with the leader of the Red Shark Gang. She had to admit, he wasn't bad. Two months ago, a fighter of this man's caliber probably would have had her worried; now, she's improved so much, she wasn't even fighting with her full strength. She really was indebted to Gohan for training her so well.

Thanks to him, her speed and physical strength had tripled; not to mention her ability to fly. She could use energy blasts _if _she wanted to, but hers were so unstable and primitive, she wouldn't dare attempt to use one; unless, she could hit the target from point blank range, with a generous amount of time to charge the attack.

At this point, she was merely toying with her opponent. She had blocked all of his offense, and dealing him direct hits in return. A well placed kick to the head knocking the big man to the ground for the umpteenth time.

The leader of the Red Shark Gang looked at Videl with pure hated. If the daughter of the world champion was this powerful, then he had seriously miscalculated his strength as well.

"Enough of this nonsense; I give up, you win Ms. Satan" he said backing down. Walking back towards his men, the large man flashes an evil smile.

"Change of plans, we're leaving. Bring the mayor, and kill the girl."

Videl gasps as four automatic, high powered weapons are suddenly pointed directly at her. Her body is pumping adrenaline at a massive rate, and she fights to calm herself down, to focus on building up her energy.

Erasa could see that her friend's life was in mortal danger, and she screamed to high heaven for her to run, and yet the girl stood her ground. Then, something strange began to happen.

Gohan, too, was preparing to insert himself into the fight, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, it was Videl, and he could feel her energy beginning to build.

Videl's body began to illuminate, slowly outlining with a soft blue light. Then, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The thugs pull the triggers on their weapons, firing countless numbers of bullets at point blank range; only to have the bullets pass through the girl as if she wasn't even there.

"Videl, what the hell are you doing!? You're being reckless!"

Gohan had immediately recognized the move as the after image technique, a technique that he had taught her. He sees the real Videl reemerge in the air, about thirty feet off the ground; a look of pure determination in her eyes.

"Sharpener, what's going on? One second Videl's just standing there, and the next she dissolves into thin air."

Erasa was befuddled, but not nearly as much as Sharpener, who sees Videl reappear in the air above them.

"Videl… is flying? Impossible, how can she do that!?"

The thugs of the Red Shark Gang were puzzled as well, but by the time they actually relocated the girl, she was already speeding towards them through the air. Gohan was on the move now; jumping down from his perch on the building roof across the street.

Videl takes out two of the thugs, and uses the after image technique once more, before taking out the third. Videl sees Gohan, in his Great Saiyaman attire, closing in over her right shoulder. Gohan throttles the remaining thug and knocks him out.

Gohan immediately embraces Videl, but she screams and points behind him. The leader of the gang has returned, bringing with him a sophisticated weapon called an Impulse Cannon, which fires lasers with precise accuracy and speed.

He turns and aims the weapon away from Gohan and Videl, aiming behind them across the street.

Gohan was suddenly horrified, _'Oh no… Sharpener and Erasa! He's aiming at them' _

"Erasa! Sharpener! Get out of here now!"

The Red Shark leader fires the weapon at the couple, allowing Gohan barely enough time to deflect the blast.

'_Oh no, this was only a diversion!' _

He was too late; the gang leader had his sights set on killing Videl the entire time. He immediately aims, and fires at the girl at point black range, and this time Gohan wasn't quick enough to stop the attack.

"Videl!" Gohan screams with all his might, but his voice is lost to the wind.

The laser pierces her left lung before she even has a chance to react. The police immediately intervene, and open fire on the, would be, killer. The big man was dead before his body even hit the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Satan City**

Gohan is beside himself, shaking with both rage and grief_, 'How could this have happened? If only she hadn't been so reckless.'_

Erasa had just about screamed bloody murder when she saw Videl's body hitting the ground. Gohan checks his girlfriend's body for a pulse. It was faint, but the girl was still alive.

"Thanks goodness, she's still alive. Sharpener, get an ambulance!"

Sharpener did a double take. If one of his best friends wasn't teetering on the edge of life and death, the muscular blond would have interrogated the bucket wearing weirdo on just how, exactly, he knew his name.

"Gohan?"

Videl's voice was strained; she attempts to call out his name again, but only manages to cough up blood. Gohan hears the sirens in the distance, but they were too far away for his liking. Overcome with fury and adrenaline, and not about to lose the woman that he cared so much for, Gohan seriously contemplates just picking her up and flying her to the lookout.

Sharpener returns, the ambulance would be arriving momentarily. Erasa is sobbing uncontrollably at this point, so he pulls her into a tight embrace and tries to comfort her the best he can; his eyes stopping to focus on Saiyaman, and the fallen Videl.

"I'm… sorry"

Videl strains; Gohan is crying at this point, but one wouldn't be able to tell with the helmet in the way. Videl could tell; and she felt it foolish that Gohan cry over her stupidity.

"Hey don't apologize, you were fantastic; a true warrior."

Gohan flashes her a smile, amidst his tears. Despite himself, Gohan leans down, and their lips interlock; the couple shares a kiss, as if it was their last. Sharpener's eyes widen, he's just figured out the Great Saiyaman's true identity.

'_There's no way… but, at the same time, it just makes sense. Yes, everything makes sense now; it's got to be him.' _

The ambulance arrives, quickly accommodating the injured Satan girl. Gohan stands, watching the ambulance disappear into the distance. He clenches his fist, and turns to leave.

"Wait, Saiyaman"

An arm reaches out and grabs him before he can disappear. It was Sharpener.

"Not now" Gohan responds in a gruff voice, panged with anger and sorrow.

Sharpener's voice was softer this time.

"Please, Gohan."

Gohan gasps "So you've figured me out, I guess I was careless. But, I don't really care at this point; I'd gladly sacrifice my identity to save the woman that I love."

He turns and stares at his friend, and smiles.

"I'm going to go and get something that will heal Videl; please take care of her until I return."

Turning, he quickly flares his aura, and blasts off into the sky, leaving a speechless Sharpener in his wake.

-----------------

High above the Earth, unbeknownst to the humans below, is the lookout tower. Piccolo, the Namekian warrior, and the previous Guardian of the Earth, has seen the entire incident with Gohan and Videl. He knows the boy is coming to the lookout; already he can feel the boy flying with maximum power.

"She was lucky Piccolo, Gohan trained her well."

Piccolo turns; it was Dende, another Namek, and the current guardian of the Earth. He too, has seen the unfortunate incident. He figures Gohan's on his way to retrieve the sensu beans, and for once he was glad Korin had plenty in stock, otherwise Gohan would forcefully drag him off the lookout to heal the girl himself.

Piccolo had cautioned Gohan about training the girl as hard as he did. It wasn't that he felt that the girl wasn't worthy, or that she lacked the adequate skills, he felt that she was too impatient, and undisciplined. And sure enough, her recklessness had nearly killed her.

"She was lucky _this_ time, but if she tries something so reckless like that again, she'll die."

His demeanor was harsh, but he was speaking the truth. He couldn't imagine what was going through Gohan's mind. Despite all of his power and strength, the boy was still unable to save the girl he loved; it was a miracle that she survived.

'_After all these years, and you still blame yourself for Goku's death.'_ Piccolo sighs, good fortune had truly shined upon his friend today.

* * *

The news of Videl's injury has spread like a fire through a sea of gasoline. By the end of the night, no less than dozen news crews were camping out inside the Satan City Hospital, hoping to get the inside scoop on the story that had shocked the entire planet.

Videl was rushed into emergency surgery, and almost twelve hours later, the girl's condition had finally stabilized. The doctors that performed the surgery were saying that it was a miracle that she was alive at all. The laser had destroyed her left lung, and had just barely missed her heart. Even now, she was still being assisted by a breathing machine.

Sharpener and Erasa have been waiting in the hospital for almost nine hours. They arrived just before Videl had been wheeled into surgery, and they opted to be there for her when she came out.

It was close to midnight when Videl finally came out of surgery; she was immediately placed into the critical care ward. The two of them had opted to stay the night in the waiting room at the hospital, wanting to be there for her when she finally regained consciousness.

It was the early hours of the morning, and Erasa had succumbed to her exhaustion, and lay half asleep with her head propped up against Sharpener's shoulder.

He too felt like sleeping, but his thoughts kept him awake. He kept playing the events of the day over and over again in his head. Seeing Videl nearly killed right in front of him had taken its toll, so much so, that he'd nearly forgotten all the other stuff he'd seen.

'_It seems almost impossible, but I'm sure Videl was flying, right before she took those guys out. Is that what Gohan's been teaching her? Gohan… he's the Great Saiyaman. I've been mulling over this for hours now, but it makes sense to me, Gohan's mysterious absences after Videl leaves to fight crime, and why Videl became so trustworthy of him so suddenly. One week she barely acknowledged the guy, the next week she was singing his praises to high heaven, and then the week after that, they started dating.'_

Sharpener sighed, he had spent months trying to figure out the Great Saiyaman's true identity, and now that he had, he barely had any enthusiasm about it at all. He thought about telling Erasa, but could she keep this secret, hell, could he even convince her that it was the truth?

It was past three in the morning, and the doctors had told them that Videl probably wouldn't be awake until morning. Erasa had been asleep for nearly an hour now, and he could feel her starting to stir against his shoulder.

"Erasa, you're awake"

Erasa sits up and rubs her eyes. She looked exhausted, her eyes were red and puffy, and her body looked a little pale, as the emotional and physical stress of the day had taken its toll. Seeing her friend nearly die in front of her, had nearly torn the girl apart; and Sharpener was grateful to the Gods that Videl was still alive. He couldn't even imagine the turmoil she'd be going through if her best friend had died. Erasa looked at her boyfriend, he looked restless.

"What time is it?"

"A bit after three, and the doctor's say that Videl probably won't be awake until morning."

Erasa rubbed her head, and stretched, trying to get comfortable in the cramped chair.

"Did Gohan ever show up? I must have dozed off an hour or two ago, I never saw him."

"No", he said, diverting his eyes.

"What!"

Erasa was suddenly very angry, Gohan was Videl's boyfriend, and by her bets would probably be her husband one day. How could he turn his back on her during her moment of need? Sharpener quickly made a gesture to silence her, not wanting to cause a scene.

"Don't worry, he'll be here. Um, I found out something interesting about Gohan, and it's been keeping me awake."

"Oh? What is it?"

"First, Erasa, you must promise me that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to say, it's important."

Erasa nods her head almost mechanically, no matter how tired she was, she would always be in the mood for some juicy gossip.

"Gohan… it's… he's, the Great Saiyaman."

Erasa stared into space, as her face slowly scrunches up, and she erupts into a fit of laughter. Gohan, the Great Saiyaman? That was the funniest thing she'd heard in a long time. Sharpener shushes her as quickly as he could.

"You're joking, there's no way Gohan could be the Great Saiyaman."

Erasa stares at her boyfriend, his eyes held no trace of sarcasm, and he looked completely serious. Her face fell open in surprise, and she demanded to know how he had arrived at such a lucrative claim.

"I saw them kiss, Videl and Saiyaman. He embraced her the exact same way that Gohan always does. As soon as a saw it, I just connected the dots."

"But, Gohan can't be Saiyaman, it just doesn't make any sense."

"Then how do you explain Gohan's mysterious absences whenever Videl leaves class to go fight crime? Before Videl met Gohan, she hardly ever noticed any of the guys, I'm proof of that. But Gohan, their relationship just sparked so suddenly, it just seemed unreasonable."

"What are you suggesting, Sharpener?"

"I bet Videl figured out that Gohan was Saiyaman a long time ago, I bet that's why she started dating him in the first place, and began training with him."

"But wasn't Gohan's dad a world class fighter like Mr. Satan? I thought they started training together out of mutual respect."

"That's what I thought, but after what I saw today, I've changed my mind."

Sharpener was being completely serious, and it was a side that Erasa rarely saw out of her normally sarcastic and arrogant boyfriend. This was a little scary for her to comprehend.

"What did you see? Did something else happen?"

Sharpener gasped, "You didn't see her? I guess not, it happened so fast; Videl, right before she attacked those men, she was flying, through the air."

"What do you mean flying?"

"I mean like how Saiyaman can fly."

"But that's not even possible Sharpener, listen to yourself, Videl flying? That's absurd."

He flashed a glare that seemingly burned right through her, before adverting his attention to the floor. He had her undivided attention now.

"Gohan confirmed it himself, he's the Great Saiyaman. I approached him before he left. He told me he was going to go get something that would heal Videl, and make her good as new. He told me to keep an eye on her before he got here."

Erasa was silent, for almost a minute she stared at the floor, saying nothing. She wanting to argue with him, but deep down she felt it was pointless.

Sharpener closed his eyes, and leans back into the stiff chair, "I'm putting my faith in Gohan. If he's says he can find a way to make Videl as good as new, I trust him."

Erasa leans forward, and buries her face into her hands. It was all just too much for her to take at this point.

"No, I need something more. I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to believe your story yet."

Her voice was a whisper, yet he could tell she was being totally serious. She was beginning to tear up again, and she was forcing herself not to cry.

"It's a miracle that Videl's even alive at all, and the doctors claim that it could be a full month before she recovers fully, if she recovers at all. If Gohan is able to heal her as fast as he claims, then I'll be a believer."

Sharpener could tell that she was scared to death, that's why he chose not to pursue the conversation any further. He leans back into the chair, smiling, and content with himself. He had gained newfound respect and admiration for Gohan today, and he knew that the boy would keep his promise.

There was nothing to worry about.

* * *

**Authors Note**

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the story so far. This story is like a crack fic, as Videl and Bulla are the Goten and Trunks of their dimension, they exist to cause mischief; however, the story will have some deeper meanings.

Sirius Potter2: I sent you a message regarding your review. I don't plan on changing anything with the DBZ dimension Gohan in this story, even though he might be portrayed as a tad bit nerdy, and somewhat weak, the story may surprise you in a few places.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Satan City**

It was close to dawn once Gohan returned to the Satan City hospital, Korin had been more than willing to relinquish the sensu beans; he had made a detour to speak with Piccolo.

Gohan knew full well that Piccolo didn't approve of Gohan training Videl like he did; he had always told him that she was reckless, and that one day she could get herself injured. Instead he had comforted, and talked with him, reassured him that the accident wasn't his fault, and he was doing the right thing by training the girl.

She lacked the appropriate discipline, but only because she was relatively inexperienced in combat situations, in which she was largely outmatched. Piccolo had been quick to remind Gohan of his own follies during his early years as a Z Fighter, the mistakes he made, the risks he took.

The talk he received from Piccolo gave him the confidence he needed to face Videl, and apologize for not being able to save her, for his sake.

Gohan enters the hospital through one of the windows to one of the maintenance rooms. Many of the windows had alarms on them, and he did not want to draw attention to himself, or disturb his sleeping girlfriend. Since he wasn't family and Videl was a celebrity, getting in to see her would have been difficult. Gohan carefully makes his way through the maintenance room, down the hall, and to Videl's room.

His palms were sweating, and his heart was beginning to race. Reaching into his pocket, he grasps the invaluable senzu bean. Creeping into the room, he stood at Videl's side. She was asleep, and was still hooked up to the breathing machine. Seeing her in such a vulnerable state was tearing him apart on the inside. He tries to speak; finding the words too difficult to from.

"This was my fault Videl… I should have been faster, stronger… I'm sorry."

Beneath him, Videl begins to stir, startling him. She opens her eyes, and gazes up at him; a single tear forms in her eye, as if pleading with him. Gohan clutches the bean in his hand, and gently places it into her hand. He smiles, looking straight into her eyes.

"This is a special bean, Videl. When you have enough strength, I want you to eat this; it will cure you."

He reaches down and holds her hand; she was crying now, though the tears were silent. Gohan was solemn; the senzu bean would cure her, so he wasn't worried about her health. However, some force still gripped him tightly. He felt himself overcome with emotion; though it wasn't sadness, or even relief. This was the feeling he had whenever he had seen his friends and family member's brushes with death, or even die in front of him.

'_Videl means more to me than just a friend; seeing her nearly die right in front of me, I realize now… I love her.' _

"We'll train some more when you recover, I promise."

Gohan leans down and kisses her forehead. Videl tries to speak, to open her mouth and say something, but finds herself too weak to move. She was experiencing a turmoil of emotions; deep down, she's come to the same realization… she loves him… it's a connection that this brief moment, yet precious moment of vulnerability has brought them.

Gohan rises and turns to leave; Videl clutches the senzu bean like life itself…

He tiptoes silently towards the door, and opens it. He checks the hall for orderlies before slipping around the corner, only to smash right into Hercule Satan.

Videl's father has seen better days; her near death experience had shaken him pretty badly, especially since the thugs that had done the damage were looking for him in the first place. Mr. Satan may have become more of a grandiose show boater, and less of a credible martial artist, but when it came to Videl, the man was very protective; it was trait Gohan found to be admirable considering his mother was the exact same way.

However, Mr. Satan wasn't exactly thrilled to bump into Gohan at the moment.

"You! You have some nerve showing up here!"

He grabs Gohan by the collar of his shirt. He can see the pain in the man eyes; it was clear that even though Videl was quite powerful in her own right, her father still expected her boyfriends to protect her.

Gohan's face sinks; he grabs the man's hand and lowers it. "Your right, I have no right to show up here; I wasn't quick enough to stop Videl from getting hurt. I failed to protect her…"

He smiles, "…But, I will not fail to rehabilitate her. I have given her something that will be sure to heal her quickly."

Mr. Satan quickly blows him off, "Why should I trust a punk like you? This thing you gave her better not hurt her, or I'll hunt you down myself!"

Gohan smiles and turns to leave, "You have nothing to worry about, sir. I love Videl, I'd never do anything to hurt her."

* * *

Videl's recovery was considered nothing short of miraculous. She had just barely survived a life threatening attack; and her road to recovery was expected to be a rough one; however, the Satan girl had spent just one night in the hospital, and came out the next morning completely healed.

It was mind boggling… her recovery defied all medical logic…

The incident had made a believer out of both Sharpener and Erasa, who promised to keep Gohan's identity as the Great Saiyaman a secret. Gohan, having revealed his identity willingly, was relieved that his friends had taken to the news so well. Revealing his identity to his closest friends wasn't as emotionally painful as he'd thought it would be; and with his identity as Saiyaman now in the open, Gohan was hoping his other secrets were safe.

However; Videl was now confident enough in her experiences and private research to have pieced together enough of the puzzle that was the enigma of the Gold Fighter. She plans to confront Gohan the next time they trained together.

* * *

The World Martial Arts Tournament was now less than a month away; his relationship with Videl has caused Gohan to neglect his training with his little brother. He promised Goten he would train with him after Trunks had pressured him into entering the tournament. Other than teaching the boy how to fly, Gohan has spent little time with his brother; an act he deeply regretted.

With his usual training with Videl postponed, Gohan opts to spend the day with his brother. The little boy was psyched; his mother refused to train him ever since his ascension.

Amazingly, Goten possessed the power to transform into a super saiyan, despite being less than ten years old. Chichi had once theorized that the ability was due to him being conceived while his father experimented using the super saiyan form during everyday life.

Bright and early at the crack of dawn, Gohan and Goten made their way into the mountains to their favorite training ground. Here they could both train without disturbing the landscape, or the environment. The other Z Fighters weren't concerned; knowing that any dramatic increase in power meant serious training was being conducted.

The pair land in a wide grassy meadow; nothing but rolling hills, and deep valleys could be seen for miles. Goten looks up at his brother expectantly.

"Wow Gohan, I can't believe that we're finally getting to train today. Now I'll finally get to show you what I can do!"

"So you've been practicing, sport?" Gohan ruffles his brother's hair.

"Yeah, though mom won't train with me anymore, so it's been tough."

Goten made a long face; now that Trunks was receiving special training from his father, he was worried about being left in the dust.

Gohan smiles, "We'll be sure to train extra hard today. Alright, let me see what you can do."

Goten laughs; it was a scary thought, even to Gohan, imagining a seven year old with the potential power to cause mass destruction.

Even though Gohan's grown weaker since defeating Cell, he's still the strongest member of the Z Fighters. Everyone else's power, including Vegeta's, had pretty much stayed the same since that fateful fight.

"Alright, I want to see where you are Goten; I want to test your speed and durability limitations first, then we'll work on strength and endurance training."

Goten takes to the air, as Gohan proceeds to fire energy blasts in rapid succession; Goten ducks and dodges them all with relative ease.

"Hey not bad sport, now try this…"

Gohan increases the intensity and speed of the blasts, quickly trapping his younger brother inside a precarious position. Gohan charges a large blast and fires it at point blank range; Goten doesn't have enough time to move out of the way, so he attempts to deflect the blast…

… it doesn't work; the blast slams into the small boy and knocks him out of the air, and into the ground. Goten is bruised, slightly singed, and none too happy.

"What was that for, Gohan!"

Gohan throws his hands up defensively, "I wanted to test your durability; I guess I used too much power."

Goten stands, and brushes himself off; he was secretly angrier at himself for not shielding his body from the attack, instead of trying to deflect it.

The two soon move to sparring one on one, Gohan opted to train Goten the same way Piccolo had taught him; except Gohan refrains from beating his brother into a pulp… his mother would have surely killed him for that.

He was surprised to find that his brother had mastered the basics flawlessly; even though his mother was a pacifist, she could fight quite well when she needed to.

The two move as blurs, dancing back and forth across the sky; Goten was surprisingly quick, and his reflexes were excellent; he was much stronger than he was at his age. Gohan blocks one of Gotens punches, and responds with a kick to his midsection, knocking the boy out of the air. Goten lands again with a hard thud against the ground.

Goten sits up and rubs his head, "It's not fair, why can't I beat you Gohan?"

Gohan laughs, "I'm much older and I have more experience than you do; but you're very powerful. I was almost twice your age before Dad taught me how to transform… but you did it so naturally. Who knows, by the time you're my age, you could wind up surpassing me."

Goten smiles and rises to his feet, ready to resume the training once more…

They train long into the afternoon, the surrounding landscape, which had been filled with enormous rock structures, was now reduced to a flat desert. The brothers decide to fly home at a leisurely pace; Gohan had always found the mountain scenery incredible this time of year.

He wipes his brow; Goten had given him quite a workout, he still found it simply amazing how strong the mini- saiyan was at his age.

"Do you think I'm strong enough to beat Trunks now Gohan?"

He turns, Goten was staring up at him with an expecting look; Gohan ruffles the boys hair, "Of course! Trunks won't know what hit him."

Gohan knew that even with his training, Trunks would still be stronger, but he couldn't bring himself to tell his younger brother that.

Suddenly, his senses began going crazy; he stops in the air and looks around, frantically trying to find the source.

'_I can sense a dying power… but where's it coming from?'_

Looking into the air, Gohan suddenly sees a space ship falling from the sky; it crashes right in front of them. The brothers rush to the wreckage site, hoping to save any survivors before they died…

The ship is completely trashed; and Gohan can't tell exactly what it is, except that it had the Capsule Corporation logo on it. To his relief, he can still sense the dying life force within the ship lying a view yards away.

'_Thank the Gods… they must have ejected before the ship crashed. I can still sense them; its faint, but they're still alive.' _

Sure enough, the brothers found the body of a young girl lying in a heap nearby. Gohan flips the body over to look at the girls face, and nearly has a heart attack…

"Videl!"

Gohan screams as he finds the broken body of his girlfriend; in shock, he carefully picks her up and cradles her. He didn't have anymore senzu beans with him, so he decides to take girl to his house to recover.

'_That must have been her hover plane I saw falling from the sky… this is the second time, the second time that I failed to protect you Videl… and now you're hurt again because of me!' _

In his angst and peril to get the severely injured girl to his house, Gohan fails to notice that the Videl he carried in his arms had a completely different scent from his girlfriend…


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Mount Paozu**

It's dusk when Videl finally recovers, she doesn't remember much of anything from the past few hours; the last thing she remembered was the sight of her ship being pulled into, and crushed by a giant wormhole. In all honesty, she did not expect to be alive…

The saiyan hybrid pulls herself into a sitting position, as she gazes around the room for the first time. It was small, but quaint; it reminded her of the room she stayed in whenever she stayed with Master Chichi on Earth.

'_After all that I went through, am I back on Earth?' _

She stands, and begins to slowly walk around the house. She calls out her master's name, fully expecting to find the woman home; she's surprised to find the house totally empty. She checks outside, maybe hoping to find her meditating, or working in her garden.

'_Weird, she's not here… I feel so bad about what we did. If I'm here, I bet she knows what happened. Damn! Bulma must have said something to her. She's gonna be pissed!'_

A sharp pain in her stomach nearly bowls her over; she was hungry… very hungry. That whole ordeal had really taken it out of her. She felt like she hadn't eaten in a week. She begins to rummage through the cupboards and the refrigerator to see what she can dig up.

She soon pulls out enough food to satisfy her saiyan sized appetite. Videl puts on an apron, pulls out a couple of skillets and mixing bowls, and begins to make herself something to eat...

About an hour later, Videl has whipped up enough food to feed at least a dozen people. She's called the entrée the Chichi special, named in honor of the beef curry delicacy found on her master's childhood village on Fire Mountain.

A sudden jolt makes her jump, as her gaze shifts towards the front door; someone else was here. Balancing a set of groceries, Chichi fiddles with the front door, and walks inside. She's immediately blasted with a wonderful smell; turning towards the kitchen, she gasps in surprise to see Gohan's girlfriend cooking up a storm.

Wait… Videl was cooking? And the house wasn't engulfed in flames? Chichi had to say she was impressed. Chichi sets the groceries down on the counter, as Videl turns off the burners. Videl immediately intercepts, in an attempt to perhaps prolong the verbal scolding she was sure was coming.

"Please master, let me put those away. Here, please sit…"

She motions towards the kitchen table, "… I've made us dinner."

Chichi raises an eyebrow, but sits at the table nonetheless. She was surprised to see the girl up and moving after just recently receiving not one, but two, serious injuries. Videl was right, she was hungry; and even though the girl had made dinner, her cooking wasn't exactly… well…. good.

Videl's puts the groceries away with rapid speed, impressing Chichi once more. She decides to make small talk, as Videl dishes out the food.

"I'm surprised to see you up moving so soon after the accident, Videl"

"Have I been here long, how long was I out for?"

Chichi quickly does a mental tally, "Five days; Gohan was the one that found you, and brought you here."

Videl raises an eyebrow, as she places several plates of food onto the table, "Really? So Gohan is here… on the Earth?"

Chichi chuckles slightly, "Are you sure you're okay Videl?"

The girl laughs, "Well aside from being totally famished, I'm fine. So Gohan is here? You must be happy, getting to see little Goku again."

Chichi's eyes widen, "P-pardon?"

Videl turns and continues to ramble, "Yeah, well, I say if he was going to name him after his father, then they should have just gone with Kakarot… would have been much simpler…"

Chichi continues to stare in shock at the absentminded girl; she tries to speak, but before she can Videl places a plate of food in from of her…

"Here I made this especially for you…"

Chichi wasn't even paying attention; if the mere mention of grandchildren wasn't enough, Videl had referred to her late husband as Kakarot… his _sayian_ name… now there was no way, NO WAY, that Videl Satan could possibly know something like that. Even if Gohan had finally cracked and revealed everything to her, there was still no way that she could…

Chichi glances down; the smell of her food had finally caught her attention. She slowly picks at it, as her eyes open even wider…

'_This… this is…' _

Everything that had been on her mind a second earlier was now gone. Sitting in front of her was a plate of beef curry… _her_ beef curry. The smell was unmistakable; she had just chosen not to notice it. The dish had been one of her mother's secret recipes that had since been passed down to her following her death. Chichi had only made the dish on special occasions… the last time being Gohan's birthday before the Cell Games.

With a trembling hand, Chichi puts a spoonful into her mouth; a second later, she drops the spoon…

'_It tastes… it tastes exactly like my mother's. How the Hell did she do this! I didn't teach her this; no one alive knows this recipe but me…' _

She was fighting tears at this point; but she manages to keep her composer. She lifts her head and stares at Videl, "Who taught you this?"

The girl shrugs, "You did, a while ago; you said I had to learn to be domesticated, so you taught me a few of your secret recipes."

Chichi continues to stare; then she notices that the girl was putting away plate after plate of food in rapid succession. She points, "Are you going to eat all that?"

Videl looks up; mumbling with her mouth half stuffed with food, "Sthure, Sthis sthould sthold me till' breathfath."

Chichi was starting to get a headache; she decides not to think anymore, and contently eats her food…

Videl quickly volunteers to do the dishes, leaving Chichi alone with her thoughts. An uncomfortable silence fills the room as Videl's angst quickly got the better of her; she turns, bows, and gives Chichi an almost pleading look… it was similar to the one her kids gave her whenever they were in trouble and wanted her forgiveness.

"Master, I just want you to know that the incident with the portal was not my fault! Yes, we were goofing off, and I did get a little drunk… I mean, the portal just exploded..."

Chichi had no clue what the girl was talking about; she just simply nodded her head and reassured the girl that everything was alright.

Both women turn at the sound of the front door being opened. It was Gohan and Goten on their way back from the Capsule Corporation. Vegeta had been gracious enough to let them use the gravity machine. The Trunks from the future had unexpectedly traveled back in time for his first social visit in nearly ten years. As a result, Bulma had forced the saiyan prince to spend some quality time with both his sons.

Gohan stares; Videl was awake, and she was wearing an apron… that could only mean that she and his mom had resumed their domestication training.

"Videl, you're awake?"

Videl runs right past Goten, and hugs the larger half saiyan…

"Gohan! Long time no see!"

"Well, it's only been five days", he laughed.

She punches his arm playfully, "Nah, you joker! It's been a little longer than that!"

'_At least three years by my count…' _

She steps away, and slowly looks him up and down. He was still tall, broad shouldered, his muscles bunched and thickly packed. And perhaps it was just her imagination, but he even looked a tad bit younger than she remembered. Her eyes lowered, resting on the little boy behind him.

She lowers herself to eye level with Goten, and suddenly picks him up in a bear hug. She quickly sets him down, and begins to rustle his hair, "Gosh you've gotten so big! Gohan, what are you feeding this kid?"

Goten smiles, he wasn't used to this kind of affection from Videl… but he liked it. Gohan forces a smile, _'Is something wrong with her? She's acting rather strange…'_

"Gohan…" she said, "You still owe me a sparring match; the last time you blew me off, but I'm not going to let that happen again!"

He grins, "Sure… a sparring match would be great…but can we do it tomorrow?"

The girl frowns, but eventually nods, "Fine; whether or not I finally get to kick your ass today or tomorrow, it doesn't really matter to me."

He smiles sheepishly, and turns to his mother; she was being unusually quiet. He pulls up a chair, and sits right next to her.

"Is everything okay Mom?"

She nods and dismisses him, leaving her alone with her thoughts. For the first time in a long time, Chichi was suddenly feeling very paranoid. She had sensed no ill will from the girl while she was unconscious; but just spending an hour with her had irked her. Calling her late husband Kakarot was certainly a red flag, unless Gohan had revealed the truth to her. Then there was the way she treated Goten…

'_She had briefly rambled on about Gohan having a son… does that mean? She thinks Goten is Gohan's child… but she doesn't act like his mother…' _

The way she treated Gohan was like the way a sibling would; there was no romance between the two, no spark. And then finally there was the beef curry… her mother's beef curry… a recipe that only she knew… a dish that she hadn't made in almost eight years.

The girl hadn't done anything wrong, so she wasn't going to kick her out of the house; but she was going to watch her like a hawk.

'_I don't know who that girl is, but she's not Videl Satan…' _

* * *

On the other side of the country, in Satan City, another Videl Satan is hard at work with her own training. She's fully healed after the incident that almost took her life. She owes everything to Gohan Son, and she can say without a doubt that she loves him with all of her heart…

The only thing that she desired was to finally unravel the truth behind his past. After learning his secret identity as the Great Saiyaman, after training with him and learning these amazing techniques that harnessed the very energies of one's own body, why was he still so afraid to come out and admit the truth?

She was positive that the group of strange fighters that appeared during the Cell Games had been Gohan and his family and friends. And she was even more positive that they had been the one's that defeated Cell, and not her father.

What did Gohan have to fear? Despite his amazing abilities, he was still human after all, right? It made no sense whatsoever…

Tomorrow, she was going to go to his house and surprise him… after all, he still owed her a day of training…

* * *

**Author's Note**

Videl is Chichi's student in the alternate universe, hence why she keeps calling her master. And she is engaged to someone in Chichi's family (as revealed in an earlier chapter), though I'm not going to say to whom.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note **

This story isn't about powers and fighting and all that. I originally created, and wrote this story because I hated the way that Gohan and Videl's relationship was portrayed in the cannon series. The series made a bigger deal out of Gohan defeating Cell than his alien ancestry, and the fact that he and his family and friends had been fighting aliens since before she was even old enough to walk.

I found it hard to believe that Videl could just become so accepting so quickly of Gohan during the Majin Buu saga, when she spent the entire Great Saiyaman saga pushing, threatening, harassing, and blackmailing him until she finally found out his identity. I think in the Buu saga, she only had one line of dialogue that explained how she felt about Gohan and his ancestry; and then there wasn't any kind of follow up after that.

I threw in characters from my custom AU because I thought it would be entertaining to write about how Videl would come to terms with her boyfriend's alien ancestry after seeing herself as an alien from another planet.

As for the characters in my alternate universe, I have a story that I've been working on for the past three years that details the events that lead to these characters rise in power. And many of the events of that story will be discussed in detail later on anyway.

**A-Man**: Thanks for the review, but still try to keep an open mind; after all, you may actually like what happens…

**Gue22: **Yeah, the saiyans in my AU are different from the ones in the series; they aren't nearly as bloodthirsty, and they're more refined as a species. Though they still possess plenty of pride, arrogance, and power.

To everyone else that has read and reviewed, thanks a bunch!

* * *

**Chapter 9 **

**West City **

Bulla Briefs growls in frustration as she tries to locate the Moon Empire's Capsule Corporation HQ. She had come to the conclusion that she had somehow crash landed on the Earth after flagging down some random human who had treated her like a crazy person.

Unfortunately for the saiyan princess, she had been born on planet Vegeta, and did not know the Earth that well at all. Sure, her mother had shipped her off to school on the Earth; however, she had spent most of her free time on Mars with Videl's family, and actually knew the red planet much better.

When her mother had married her father, she packed up the entire Capsule Corporation Headquarters, and moved everything to Planet Vegeta. Capsule Corp became a saiyan industry; the Moon Empire and the Juraian Empire both had their own headquarters that imported and distributed merchandise. And by coincidence, it just so happened that the Moon Empire's Capsule Corp HQ was located on the Earth.

Unfortunately for Bulla, she hadn't the first clue what city the headquarters was located in. She decides to start from North City, and then make her way in a clockwise arch, hitting all the major cities. After flying through three cities with no luck, she was about give up hope, until she finally sees the giant yellow dome that was synonymous with her mother's corporation looming ahead.

Bulla could almost smack herself for her stupidity, _'West City… duh Bulla… mom's home town.'_

She circles the top of the building, trying to locate the VIP offices. She had no time to waste with underlings, and wanted to talk with that could help her… that could contact her mother for her… because apparently, the Moon Empire somehow did not exist for some odd reason.

To her shock, instead of finding office buildings on the top, she finds bedrooms, a kitchen, laundry room… there was a house built in on top of the headquarters… that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

She begins to check the windows on the outside, hoping for one that was unlocked. She gets lucky, and manages to pry one open without breaking it. She climbs into the house, only to slip and fall on her ass. She grabs the window for support, only to pull the entire thing out of place. The glass falls and shatters on the tiled floor.

Bulla swears under her breath, as she hears footsteps quickly approaching her. She freezes as a buff young man with shoulder length lavender colored hair enters the room. He gazes at the broken window, then back at her.

He turns and shouts, "Father! We have an intruder!"

Bulla turns to make a break for it, but the man quickly grabs her wrist to stop her…

"Don't move!"

Bulla balls her fist, quickly planting it into the side of the man's jaw, sending him flying backwards. Trunks slams into the wall behind him, making the entire floor shake. He quickly stands, and wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth.

'_What a punch… she's no ordinary girl…' _

The girl in front of him was, in simple terms, gorgeous. She too had long lavender colored hair, a well endowed figure, and shapely curves. However; the girl also had a nasty temper and monstrous strength, as he had just witnessed.

Bulla folds her arms, "I was trying to find the damn headquarters for the Capsule Corporation; I had no idea that there were people living on the top."

The man opens his mouth to respond, but Bulla quickly stops him, "Look, I'm sorry about the window, I'll pay for it; I'm just trying to find someone that can help me contact my mom and dad."

The man's face softens, "What's your name? I can run it through our system's computer."

Bulla growls impatiently, "What? Are you serious? You work for Capsule Corp, but yet you don't even know who the fuck I am?"

Trunks raises an eyebrow, and smirks at her arrogance, infuriating her even more, "Well, should I?"

"Listen you weak minded peon! My name is Bulla Briefs; I am the Princess of the Saiyan's. My mother owns this whole damn company!" she shouts.

The man's mouth falls open in surprise, as Bulla smirks….

"Princess of the Saiyans, huh?" said a voice behind him. Bulla gasps as a man with spiky black hair, with a towel wrapped around his shoulders, enters the room behind Trunks.

"…Because as the Prince of the Saiyans, I would love to hear you try to defend that lie."

With her emotions running wild, Bulla suddenly shakes the cobwebs out of her head; she instinctively bows in front of the man, "Please excuse my outburst father; I had no idea that you were here on this planet…"

This time it was Vegeta's turn to look shocked, "Listen, girl…" he starts, only to be interrupted by Bulla's incisive rambling…

"…I regretfully inform you that the mission you sent me on was a failure; but it wasn't our fault… the portal was already malfunctioning…"

Vegeta holds up his hand, "Will you shut up! Listen girl, I have no idea who you are… I have no daughter."

Bulla recoils, her face suddenly pained with anger and shame, "A-are you disowning me? Do I really mean that little to you now father? Your first born and heir to your throne?"

Vegeta scoffs, and rolls his eyes; he had no time for this girl's nonsense. "Leave the property now, before I throw you out myself!"

Bulla's eyes begin to tear up as she begins to sob, first softly, and then loudly and uncontrollably. Her entire body was racked with grief, as her mournful cries filled the room. Vegeta held his ears, and turns to leave, when his eye suddenly catches a peculiar sight; in her grief Bulla has unconsciously released her tail from her waist, letting it drop behind her for all to see. Both Vegeta and Trunks stare at the appendage with apprehension. The girl might have been lying about her identity, but there was no doubt that she was indeed a saiyan.

She turns to leave, but Vegeta stops her, "Wait…"

She quickly flashes him a death glare; Vegeta could see the pain and betrayal in her eyes, perhaps the girl was telling the truth after all.

"…Listen… perhaps I was too quick to dismiss you; but if you are whom you claim to be, then you won't mind fighting me to prove yourself?"

Bulla dries her tears, and then thinks over the man's proposal. She too, was questioning the true identity of the man in front of her. Even though she knew that her father did love her, disownment was still a common practice within saiyan culture.

Inwardly she was still seething, _'I'm convinced that guy isn't who he claims to be either, so it doesn't matter if he thinks I'm a liar or not. If beating him is the only way to contact my parents, then I'll grind him into the dirt!'_

* * *

Morning did not come fast enough for Videl; she was so excited she could hardly sleep. As a child, she had always idolized Gohan; after all, he was the strongest saiyan in the entire galaxy. He was like an older brother to her; all she really wanted was to prove herself, to show him just how much she had improved…

Gohan was worried about Videl; though his instincts told him she had recovered fully, he just thought that she was way too eager to fight him. Or perhaps this is what the paranoia of love felt like…

He groans, _'Now I know how mom felt every time dad and I just up and left to fight some villain.'_

Suddenly, he forgets everything as a wonderful smell overwhelms his senses, _'Mom must be outdoing herself…'_

He walks into the kitchen, only to be greeted by a truly shocking site… he finds his mother sitting at the table, her eyes were facing forward in a zombified, trance like state; his girlfriend was the one doing the cooking.

"Wow Videl, something smells great; since when did you learn to cook?"

Videl smiles, "If you think the food is good, just wait until you see me fight."

He grins, _'She sure is eager…'_

Gohan wolfs down his breakfast, not even noticing his girlfriend consuming a portion of food allot larger than she normally would have. Though one person did…

Goten did not have much of an appetite that morning; he sat at his chair with a forlorn expression on his face… his fork barely even touching his food. What was bothering him was Videl; the girl had gone out of her way to completely ignore him. Every attempt to talk with her was brushed aside; the girl hadn't even gone near him the entire morning. He didn't understand; what had he done wrong? He couldn't remember doing anything that would make her so angry…

Chichi has noticed the change as well, but she chose to keep her mouth shut. Whenever Goten so much as looked at Videl; Chichi saw the girl turn as white as a sheet…

After breakfast, Videl opts to change before the big sparring match; before heading out Chichi stops her son…

"Gohan, keep an eye on her…"

Gohan stops her, "I've got everything under control."

"Do you? Videl's acting much weirder than she usually does… just make sure she doesn't do anything funny, okay?"

He nods as a voice calls from the guest bedroom; Videl steps back into the living room, "Alright, I'm ready; I was lucky I had an extra set of clothes…"

Neither Gohan nor Chichi were listening; all they can do is gawk at the girl as silence overtakes the room. To say that Videl's outfit was liberating would be an understatement. Her well toned stomach, her back, and her arms were all bare; a small white top that seemed to be painted onto her body was all that covered her breasts. She wore black boots, and black pants with white flaps that hung down her thighs; to Chichi the outfight sort of looked like someone had just cut off the bottom half of a formal dress.

Gohan had to avert his eyes to keep himself from getting a nosebleed; he had never seen his girlfriend wear anything so revealing before. Chichi was totally speechless…

'_Was this your new strategy Videl? To distract me with your body, and then pummel me?' _

Videl smiles, "Well, let's go… you lead the way, Gohan."

With Goten following close behind, Gohan takes off into the air, with Videl following right after them.

* * *

Five hours due south in the City formerly of Orange Star, Videl Satan makes her final preparations before flying over to Gohan's house. This would be her first major trip she's made under her own power since the accident, and she's determined to not only summon enough energy to make it to Gohan's house, but to train all day with him as well.

'_The tournament's in less than a month; I've got to be ready. I can't let this injury hold me back!' _

At maximum speed, she can fly as fast as her jet copter; meaning that it would take her about an hour and a half to cover the distance between the city and their favorite training grounds in the mountains by his house. However; she was taking it slow today, and the journey was going to take her an extra forty- five minutes.

Two hours into the journey, and Videl still feels fantastic; her body was strong, and her muscles felt as hard as steel. She was focused, and ready for the training… but tense, because she planned on finally confronting Gohan about the secrets of the Cell Games.

She still didn't understand what the boy had to fear; humans were powerful enough to cause mass destruction… she had seen some of the stuff that Krillin, Yamcha, and Master Roshi could do… what was so different?

The truth was… she wanted to know… to know if she could become that powerful some day; It had become a dream of hers to one day stand next to Gohan and his friends and protect humanity from any and all dangers.

She was nearing the training ground, though something wasn't right. Looking down, she can see Goten… Gohan was standing right in front of him with…. wait… There was another person! Videl silently lands, and hides behind a large rock; she inches herself forward, and pears behind the side to see what was going on. She gasps…

'_That asshole!' _

There was a girl with him! Gohan had brought another girl with him to _their _training grounds! She could tell that the girl wasn't his mother; she was dressed like a total scank! From what Videl could see, her outfit reminded her of something that Erasa would wear.

She was seething, _'I swear I'm going to kill him! How fucking dare he do this to me!" _

She manages to get a hold of herself, and stays put. In the case that this was indeed just a bad coincidence, she did not want to blow and make a fool of herself… she wanted proof… was Gohan cheating? Was he training some other girl, and teaching her techniques that he should have teaching her? Perhaps the girl was a family member? Or maybe even a superhuman like Krillin or Yamcha…

'_Hey… if observe them, then maybe I can learn something from them; that's assuming this girl is a good fighter.'_

She hoped so; she could at least forgive that considering that all of Gohan's other close friends were incredibly powerful fighters. Sitting low, crouched behind the rock, she observes the action in front of her… assumingly unnoticed.


End file.
